15 Feb 2021
Sir Joseph Banks High School and the University of Technology Sydney have provided an amazing opportunity to build the skills and confidence of selected Year 11 students to prepare for their transition to university. Last month, there were 350 students from 23 schools in South West Sydney, and among them we had 23 students from Year 11 at Sir Joseph Banks High School visited UTS for Summer School - a two-week, hands-on experience to get a taste of university study.
These students were selected to join the U@Uni Academy as an alternate pathway to attend university.
"We want to give students an opportunity to come to university and to really shine. It’s about looking at their potential based on 21st century skills; collaboration, creativity and leadership to name a few", said Verity Firth, Executive Director of the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion, which runs the Academy.
Summer School marks the beginning of the students' two-year journey through the U@Uni Academy, which will involve faculty-based workshops, tutoring and mentoring throughout their senior years.
Emlyn Dodd, Summer School Coordinator at the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion, mentioned how the students "had such a fun time and produced brilliant work across all subject areas." They are looking forward in seeing what this cohort brings over the next two years.
This year's Summer School gave students a taster in Science, Media, Education, Design, Engineering and IT, Business and Health subjects. The projects they completed range from creating computer games, documentaries to garments and more!
A gallery showcasing the students on campus will be coming soon!